Searching Analysis

Topic: Workstation Supply Arrangement

Trainee Name: PALMA, Rowen D.

In this assignment you are to construe the Workstation Supply Arrangement specification, with particular
attention to:

• Claim Construction
• Full Support
• Unity of Invention
• Developing an effective search strategy
• Conducting an online search
• Assessing novelty and inventive step in light of the search

Use the assignment template below as a framework to show your construction, and then to develop an
examiner’s report.

Claim construction

Claims Features Construction (scope) and plain meaning

A double-sided electrical outlet
for workstation wall dividers,
said outlet comprising:
Double-sided is to be construed with its plain meaning as being able
to use both sides.
electrical outlet is be understood as including either an electrical or
data outlet

for indicates that the claimed use is not only limited to

1
workstation is to be construed with its plain meaning as a type of
office furniture installed in commercial premises

wall dividers are to be understood as partitions that divide the

workstation

comprising shall mean including but not strictly limited to

 a housing having at least Housing shall pertain to the casing of the electrical outlet as
one cable understood by a PSA.

Having at least one means that the minimum requires is one

Cable shall pertain to either a wire or similar conductive connector

as understood by a PSA
 a first outlet plate First outlet plate, along with the rest of this feature, is understood by
connected with, or the PSA as the first side of the electric outlet
forming, one side of said

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 housing
 said first outlet plate This feature denotes that the first outlet plate and cable have an
having at least one outlet electrical connection as understood by a PSA.
electrically connected to
said cable
 a second outlet plate Second outlet plate is to be understood as the opposite side of the
engageable with said first outlet plate whose specifications (being parallel, thickness) are
housing to connect with, as specified.
or form an opposite side
of said housing with said Engageable is to be understood at its plain meaning as used in
outlet plates being combination with
substantially parallel and
spaced apart by a
thickness of a wall
divider
 and said second outlet This discloses that there are three features that are electrically
plate having at least one connected, namely second outlet plate to one part of a two part
outlet electrically connector, and said connector to the cable
connected to one part of
a two part connector,
the other part of said
connector being in said
housing and being
electrically connected to
said cable
 the engagement of said Engagement is to be understood by the PSA as the point where the
second outlet plate and second outlet plate and housing are combined or became a
housing also combination
interconnecting said two
part connector Also interconnecting is to be understood as being also electrically
connected

The outlet as claimed in claim 1 The claim construction as in claim 1.

2
wherein
 said cable and outlet are For denotes that the use is suitable
for telecommunications
data Telecommunications data is to be understood by the PSA as
electronic information or data
The outlet as claimed in claim 1 The claim construction as in claim 1.
3
wherein
 said cable and outlet are For denotes that the use is suitable but not limited to
for a mains AC supply
Mains AC supply is to be understood by the PSA as the general-
purpose electric power supply
The outlet as claimed in claim 3 The claim construction as in claim 3.
4
wherein
 said outlet plates each At least one is plainly construed as minimum number of one
include at least one
on/off switch On/off Switch is understood by the PSA as something that could
control to open or close the connection to the main power supply
5 The outlet as claimed in any one The claim construction as in any of claims 1-4.

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 of claims 1 to 4 wherein
 said second outlet plate Snap engagement means are to be understood by the PSA as fittings
includes snap that would enable the outlet plates and other related features to
engagement means interlock in said housing.
engageable with
complimentary snap Complimentary may raise clarity issues as the description actually
engagement means uses the word complementary instead.
located on said housing
The outlet as claimed in claim 5 The claim construction as in claim 5.
6
wherein
 said snap engagement Ratchet mechanism is to be understood by the PSA as a way to
means includes a ratchet control the depth or thickness depending on the direction of
mechanism to rotation of said mechanism
accommodate wall
dividers of different Having said feature is used to anticipate or accommodate walls of
thickness within a range variable thickness
of thickness
A workstation electrical supply Workstation is to be plainly construed as an office furniture installed
arrangement comprising in commercial premises
7
Electrical supply arrangement, denotes the workstation’s physical
structure that could accommodate connections with the electrical
supply
 a plurality of outlets Plurality of outlets is plainly construed as having multiple electrical
mounted on at least one outlets
wall divider each of
which comprises Mounted on is plainly construed as built at a height from a surface

Wall divider is plainly construed as the partitions used in the

workstation
 a central board Central board is defined in the description as the interior portion of
one of the wall dividers
 said outlets being Groove is to be understood by its plain meaning as a long, narrow
interconnected with at depression used as guide for the cables.
least one cable each of
which is located in a This feature denotes how the outlets are incorporated in the central
groove formed in a board/wall divider through the latter’s grooves.
corresponding one of
said central board(s), and
 said cable(s) terminating Plug-in connector is understood by the PSA as electrical male plug
in a plug in connector
able to be plugged into a This feature denotes how the cables are terminated by said plug-in
wall or floor mounted connector.
outlet
The arrangement as claimed in The claim construction as in claim 7.
8
claim 7 wherein
 at least one of said This denotes that any of the outlets provided in the workstation may
outlets comprises a be the double-sided outlet claimed in any of Claims 1-6
double-sided outlet as
claimed in any one of
claims 1 to 6

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 The arrangement as claimed in The claim construction as in claim 8.
9
claim 8 wherein
 said wall divider has a Textile is to be plainly construed as any fabric material capable of
textile covering on both sound absorption
sides thereof which is
compressed between This feature denotes the arrangement of the wall divider’s textile
said substantially parallel together with the double side outlets that have been incorporated.
first and second outlet
plates
The arrangement as claimed in The claim construction as in claims 8 or 9.
10
claim 8 or 9 wherein
 the or each said double- Aperture is defined in the invention as rectangular holes that could
sided outlet is located in accommodate the outlets
a correspondingly
shaped aperture formed
in a corresponding one of
said central board(s)
The arrangement as claimed in The claim construction as in any of claims 7-10.
11 any one of claims 7 to 10
wherein
 said central board(s) are This feature denotes the material used for the central boards/wall
formed from timber or dividers, and the way they are arranged.
timber substitute and
said grove is formed by However, said feature is not disclosed in the description.
routing said central
board(s)
The arrangement as claimed in The claim construction as in any of claims 7-11.
12 any one of claims 7 to 11
wherein
 said plug is selected from This feature discloses that the plug used as termination in any of
the class consisting of claims 7 to 11 is either a mains AC supply plug or a
mains AC supply plugs telecommunications data plugs.
and telecommunications
data plugs.
Add additional rows as required.

Section 35 & 36 • Has the invention been disclosed in a sufficiently clear and complete manner for the invention to be carried out by a
person skilled in the art?
• Do the claims satisfy requirements in terms of clarity?
• Do the claims satisfy the requirements of support/full support?
Sec. 35 (Enabling Disclosure)
The present application meets the requirements for enabling disclosure under Section 35 of the IP Code. The
description discloses the present invention in a manner that is sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried
out by a person skilled in the art without undue experimentation. The technical details of the invention are
disclosed in such a way that the technical problem with which it deals can be appreciated and the solution can be
understood.

Sec. 36 (Clarity & Full Support)

Claim 5 is objected for lacking clarity due to the use of the word, “complimentary snap engagement”. Said word
as used could be interpreted that there is an extra snap engagement or a snap engagement for the purpose of an
enhancement. Based from Page 3, Line 34, the correct word to be used should be “complementary”.

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Claim 7 is also objected for lacking clarity due to the phrase, “mounted on at least one wall divider”. Said phrase
render the claim indefinite because the phrase is inferentially included and it is unclear if the applicant is
positively reciting or functionally reciting the element.

Moreover, Claim 11 is objected for lacking full support. Said claim discloses that the central boards of the
workstation are made of timber or timber substitute but such has not been disclosed anywhere in the
description.

Unity of • Is there any lack of unity a priori?

• Is there any lack of unity a posteriori?
Invention

Claims 1-12 are objected for lacking unity of invention.

The claims of the present application consist of several distinct inventions in which a single patent cannot be
issued to cover them and therefore an election of either one of the groups, as set forth below, is required under
Rule 604 of the Revised IRR on Inventions:

Group 1 (Claims 1-6) is directed to a double-sided electrical outlet for workstation wall dividers comprising of a
housing, a cable, a first outlet plate, and a second outlet plate. The outlet is then used for telecommunications
data or mains AC supply.

Group 2 (Claims 7-12) is directed to a workstation electrical supply arrangement comprising of a wall divider with
central board, and a plurality of outlets. Said arrangement is further characterized by being interconnected by
cables and terminated by a plug-in connector.

The requirement of unity of invention shall be fulfilled only when there is a technical relationship among those
inventions involving one or more of the same or corresponding special technical features. The expression “special
technical features” shall mean those technical features that define a contribution which each of the claimed
inventions, considered as a whole, makes over the prior art (Rule 605.a of the Revised IRR on Inventions).

In the above groups of claims, the identified features may have the potential to make a contribution over the
prior art but are not common to all the claimed inventions and therefore cannot provide the required technical
relationship. Therefore there is no special technical feature common to all the claimed inventions and the
requirements for unity of invention are consequently not satisfied a priori.

IPC Mark • Identify the closest International Patent Classification mark

IPC:

H01R4/60: (closest)

H02G3/22

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A47B21/06:

CPC: H01R25/006; H02G3/18; A47B2021/066; A47B21/00

Search terms This section is to be filled in before you participate in the three person team discussion.
• What search terms have you selected and which specific search engines/databases will you search in? Why?
• Have you used trial searches to establish appropriate search terms/strategies? Please comment further if the trial searches
made you change the use of some search terms.

Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3 Concept 4 Concept 5

Electric* grooves
workstation wall dividers textile plurality of outlets
arrangement
desk screen fabric Electrical assembly multiple outlets Channels
table partitions cloth Electrical system several raceway
Bench panel numerous
Furniture

Concept 4 can be further characterized as:

C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7
Snap Ratchet
electrical outlet double-sided data cable plate interconnecting switch
fastener mechanism
electric
two-sided power cord inter-engaged controller
receptacle
outlet dual-sided electricity line interface button
receptacle opposite-sided current lead
wall plug telecommunications wire
wall socket communications

Other Search Terms:

 Inventor: John Smith
 Priority Date: 20 January 2010
 Applicant: WORKDIVIDER LTD
 IPC: H01R4/60; H02G3/22; A47B21/00; A47B21/06;
 CPC: H01R25/006; H02G3/18; A47B2021/066

The above keywords were selected as they were deemed to be the main concepts brought upon by the invention.
Synonyms of this keywords were supplied in order to enhance the search. Trial searches using above keywords
were used in order to verify which keywords are actually relevant for use in the search strategy.

Search Strategy • Record the agreed search strategy after the three person team discussion.
• You will need to evaluate the search results from the agreed search strategy to determine if any further searching is
necessary. Record any further searching done.
• What makes the search strategies reliable and cost-effective?
SEARCH SEARCH NO. OF DOCUMENTS
SEARCH STRING(S)
FIELD(S) DATABASES HITS VIEWED

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 IPOPHL
John Smith Inventor 2 2
Patent Search

IPOPHL
Workdivider Applicant 0 0
Patent Search

IPOPHL
H01R 4/60 IPC Classes 3 3
Patent Search

IPOPHL
H02G 3/22 IPC Classes 16 16
Patent Search

IPOPHL
A47B 21/00 IPC Classes 18 18
Patent Search

IPOPHL
A47B 21/06 IPC Classes 0 0
Patent Search

IPOPHL
H01R 4/60; A47B 21/00 IPC Classes 0 0
Patent Search

IPOPHL
H02G 3/22; A47B 21/00 IPC Classes 0 0
Patent Search

Inventions File Type

20/01/2010 Novelty Date IPAS 9 9
H01R4/60 H02G3/22 Any IPCs

Inventions File Type

20/01/2010 Novelty Date IPAS 3 3
A47B21/00 A47B21/06 Any IPCs

PD<2010-01-20
Espacenet
AND ipc=((H01R4/60 OR H02G3/22) AND Smart Search 21 21
(new)
(A47B21/00 OR A47B21/06))
PD<2010-01-20
AND ta=((workstation OR desk OR furniture)
Espacenet
AND electric* (arrangement OR assembly OR Smart Search 113 First 10
(new)
system) AND wall (divider OR partition OR
panel))
PD<2010-01-20 AND ta=((workstation OR
desk OR furniture) AND electric* (arrangement
OR assembly OR system) AND (divider OR
Espacenet
partition OR panel)) AND Smart Search 3 3
(new)
ftxt=((plurality OR multiple OR numerous)
AND (electric* (outlet OR receptacle OR
socket)) AND double-sided)
PD<2010-01-20 AND ta=((wall (divider OR
Espacenet
panel OR partition)) AND electric* Smart Search 1706 First 10
(new)
(arrangement OR assembly OR system))
PD<2010-01-20 AND
ta=((wall (divider OR panel OR partition)) AND Espacenet
Smart Search 506 First 10
electric* (arrangement OR assembly OR (new)
system)) AND

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ftxt=(((double OR dual OR two) (side* OR
face*)) AND ((electric* OR data) AND (outlet
OR socket OR receptacle)))
PD<2010-01-20 AND ta=((wall (divider OR
panel OR partition)) AND electric*
(arrangement OR assembly OR system)) AND
Espacenet
ftxt=(((double OR dual OR two) (side* OR Smart Search 11 11
(new)
face*)) AND ((electric* OR data) AND (outlet
OR socket OR receptacle))) AND
IPC=H01R4/60
PD<2010-01-20 AND
ta=(((double OR two OR opposite) (sided OR Espacenet
Smart Search 233 First 20
faced)) AND ((electric* OR data) AND (outlet (new)
OR socket OR receptacle)))
PD<2010-01-20 AND ta=(((double OR dual
OR two) (sided OR faced)) AND ((electric* OR Espacenet
Smart Search 12 12
data) AND (outlet OR socket OR receptacle))) (new)
AND ipc=H02G3
((double-sided) OR (dual-sided) OR (two-
sided)) (((electric OR data)) AND (outlet OR
socket OR receptacle)) ((cable OR cord OR Google
Search Terms 48,936 First 10
wire) AND ((interconnecting OR inter- Patents
engaged) plate*) AND (switch OR ratchet))
before:priority:20100120
(workstation OR office table OR office desk)
AND ((double-sided) OR (dual-sided) OR
(two-sided)) (((electric OR data)) AND (outlet
Google
OR socket OR receptacle)) ((cable OR cord Search Terms 19,626 First 10
Patents
OR wire) AND ((interconnecting OR inter-
engaged) plate*) AND (switch OR ratchet))
before:priority:20100120
(workstation OR desk OR furniture) AND
electric* (arrangement OR assembly OR
Ti/Ab/Cl
system) AND (divider OR partition OR panel) PD
Lens 14 14

Until 2010-01-20
((double OR two OR opposite) (sided OR
faced)) AND ((electric* OR data) AND (outlet
Ti/Ab/Cl
OR socket OR receptacle)) PD
Lens 7,194 First 10

Until 2010-01-20
((double OR two OR opposite) (sided OR
faced)) AND ((electric* OR data) AND (outlet
OR socket OR receptacle))
Ti/Ab/Cl
(workstation OR desk OR furniture) AND Full Text Lens 21 21
electric* (arrangement OR assembly OR PD
system) AND (divider OR partition OR panel)

Until 2010-01-20
(((double OR dual OR two) (sided OR faced))
AND ((electric* OR data) AND (outlet OR
socket OR receptacle)))
Ti/Ab/Cl
((cable OR cord OR wire) AND Full Text Lens 489 First 10
((interconnecting OR inter-engaged) plate*) PD
AND (switch OR ratchet))

Until 2010-01-20

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(((double OR dual OR two) (sided OR faced))
AND ((electric* OR data) AND (outlet OR
socket OR receptacle))) Ti/Ab/Cl
IPC Lens 20 20
A47B21/00 PD

Until 2010-01-20
(((double OR dual OR two) (sided OR faced))
AND ((electric* OR data) AND (outlet OR
socket OR receptacle))) Ti/Ab/Cl
IPC Derwent 20 20
A47B21/00 PD

<=20100120
(((double OR dual OR two) AND (sided OR
faced)) AND ((electric+ OR data) AND (outlet
EPODOC EPOQUENET 243 First 5
OR socket OR receptacle))) AND PD<2010-
01-20
(((double OR dual OR two) AND (sided OR
faced)) AND ((electric+ OR data) AND (outlet
EPODOC EPOQUENET 7 7
OR socket OR receptacle))) AND PD<2010-
01-20 AND A47/CC
abst/((double OR two OR opposite)AND(sided
OR faced)) AND ((electric OR data) AND
Query USPTO 246 First 10
(outlet OR socket OR receptacle)) AND
isd/$/$/1976->1/20/2010
abst/(((wall AND divider) OR panel OR
partition) AND electric AND (arrangement OR
Query USPTO 480 First 10
assembly OR system)) AND
isd/$/$/1976->1/20/2010
(((double OR dual OR two) (sided OR faced))
Keyword
AND ((electric* OR data) AND (outlet OR Search
IEEE 101 First 10
socket OR receptacle)))
(workstation OR office table OR office desk)
AND (((double OR dual OR two) (sided OR Keyword
Search
IEEE 4 4
faced)) AND ((electric* OR data) AND (outlet
OR socket OR receptacle))

Novelty
Citations:
D1: US2007/0077799 (LAUKHUF). 05 Apr 2007.
D2: US5941720A (BYRNE). 24 Aug 1999.
D3: US6036516A (BYRNE). 14 Mar 2000.

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